A group of activists have strongly condemned last week’s killing of a student leader from the Nuba Mountains in Juba, calling on South Sudanese authorities to properly investigate the incident.

An unknown armed group killed Abdullah Kashumba Kunda, formerly head of the Association of Nuba Mountains Students at Juba University, in what many described as “targeted” murder.

Nuba for Peace Movement (NPM), in a statement, strongly condemned the killing, which they described as “inhuman” and “barbaric” in nature. They also called for a probe into the gruesome murder.

“We strongly condemn this act of murdering innocent students, with no reason and call upon the government of South Sudan to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice,” the group said.

The 2 March incident, eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune, occurred at about 4:00am [local time], when 12 armed people attacked a dormitory that houses Nuba students at Jebel, located about 6km south-west of the capital, Juba.

Kashumba, students told South Kordofan media center, was shot and killed as he tried to confront the attacker who came to the student hostel.

“We were sleeping at night when we were surrounded by a group of people attacking our house,” Issa Al Basha, a witness who was present during the incident told Radio Tamazuj.

The attackers, he said, also threatened at gunpoint some of the student who slept outside, but within the dormitory fence, before they proceed to shoot the student leader, who reportedly resisted any attempt by the killers to enter his room.

Despite no arrest made in relation to the killing, some students from the Nuba Mountains believe their leader was a victim of well-planned mission.

In recent months, the South Sudan capital has witnessed series of killings, largely blamed on robbers by security organs. Juba residents, however, say some members of the armed forces could be behind some of the killings, a claim government disputes.